Siân Lloyd sparked a pub storm by claiming her friends had been thrown out for singing in Welsh.
The weather presenter, 66, said it was ‘scarcely credible such a frightful pub exists in Cymru’ after they were asked to leave The Blue Bell in Conwy, north Wales.
But she later double-downed on her comments after landlord Jared Dunn defended the decision and said the ITV presenter had misunderstood the situation.
In now deleted posts on her X account, Lloyd had suggested people either boycott the pub or to join her there ‘for a lovely Welsh sing-along’.
Mr Dunn confirmed a group of people had been asked to leave by door staff on Saturday after they were heard bellowing the national anthem, telling the BBC: ‘We have run the pub for 11 years – we don’t do singing.’
Siân Lloyd, 66, sparked a pub storm by claiming her friends had been thrown out of The Blue Bell in Conwy, north Wales, for singing in Welsh
Lloyd later double-downed on her comments after a ‘lovely chat’ with the landlord whom she is ‘now looking forward to meeting and clinking glasses over a nice Guinness’
After Lloyd posted her call to arms, other pub landlords in the castle town forwarded him the tweet to make him aware.
She later confirmed she had had a ‘lovely chat’ with the landlord and they had both agreed that ‘social media tends to blow things out of proportion’.
Lloyd is now ‘looking forward to meeting him and clinking glasses over a nice Guinness’.
She had said tourists loved hearing singing in the Welsh and claimed that what happened showed a ‘shameful attitude of antipathy’ towards the language.
Her post prompted anger from Welsh speakers fearing it was an example of the language being marginalised.
She wrote on Saturday: ‘Who’s joining me for a lovely Welsh sing-along at The Blue Bell in Conwy? In Wales. Friends of mine have just been thrown out for singing in their native language. I know! Scarcely credible such a frightful pub exists in Cymru. So we can either sing our socks off or boycott them.’
Comments criticising the pub’s alleged stance – for ‘kicking out people who come in singing Welsh’ – quickly began appearing on the pub’s social media platforms.
Critics labelled it a ‘backwards’ gesture and said the pub should be ‘ashamed’. Agreeing, Siân wrote: ‘Difficult to believe they would marginalise so many customers, let alone a whole living thriving native language.’
But the 66-year-old’s comments attracted criticism from online users worried she had misinterpreted what happened and risked inflaming the situation.
One woman suggested people pause to consider ‘whether trying to destroy a local business is the appropriate action’. The former presenter said she had checked out the pub and ‘examined the facts’.
Mr Dunn though said it was ‘not a language issue, it’s a singing issue’.
‘We don’t allow singing as we try to make the pub comfortable and welcoming for our customers,’ he said.
Landlord Jared Dunn defended the decision and said the ITV presenter had misunderstood the situation as he told the BBC: ‘We have run the pub for 11 years – we don’t do singing’
‘Many come here with their families and don’t want loud singing while they’re trying to eat. The rule exists for everyone, not just one group.
‘I was working in the kitchen when the singing began. As it was the national anthem, we made an exception and let them finish. Then they were asked to stop singing but almost immediately they began singing again, as if trying to antagonise us and our customers.
‘So they were asked to leave by the door staff. One door person from a neighbouring establishment came to help. I arrived when they were at the door and it became a little heated – one person was right in my face. Why would they do that when it’s all on camera?’
The Blue Bell hosts music nights on Fridays and Saturdays, and on Sundays it has an ‘open mic night’ with ‘all genres and skill levels welcome’.
Mr Dunn said Lloyd and her friends would be welcome to come and sing at one of these open sessions in the language of their choosing.
He added: ‘Over the years, this sort of thing has happened four or five times – people complaining online that they can’t sing or be served in Welsh.
‘On one occasion we were even threatened with being firebombed. We have children upstairs… how would anyone think of doing that?
‘Many pubs have this rule in place, to enable their customers to have some peace and quiet while they’re eating.
‘It’s the same reason we don’t show sports or allow any kind of football chanting. I’m from Australia, one of the most multicultural nations in the world, and I’m all for the Welsh language – my wife is Welsh and our children are learning the language.
‘Singing in Welsh was not the reason why they were asked to leave. They were asked to leave for being obnoxious and not conforming to the pub’s rules.’
Having tenanted the pub for 11 years, Mr Dunn and his family are themselves set to leave in the coming weeks.
He said the past five years have been tough – Covid lockdowns followed by the cost-of-living crisis – and the family wanted a break.
His wife is training to be an NHS radiographer at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd in Bodelwyddan and their new base in Prestatyn, Denbighshire, will be better suited.
